What to ask a possible buyer? : Ethical Rabbit Raising for the Pet Market

Rabbits for profit… Rabbits for fun… Rabbits for just about everyone…

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But with rabbits being so common as kids pets then ending up being forgotten in a corner of the house somewhere while the owners hope it will die on its own soon.. I want to be a bit careful on who to sell too. I already said that children will not be able to buy them unless their parents are there and seem genuinly interested, and that I will take back any rabbit - no returned funds - if they for any reason don't want it.

I also posted some info on rabbits, how they live in th wild, that these are raised in a colony, they need space to move and that they can live forten years (so people who still think it's a nice pet that die conveniently after a year or two, will think further). Even giving some advice on how to provide a permanent playground for them..

Yes, I'm as surprised as anyone that I actually got answers on that ad..

Anyhow.. I did get an answer on mail, and sent my phone number. What do I ask the buyer? I want to know that they have thought their purchase through and are prepared to give the rabbit more space than minimum legal cage space... but I don't want to scare them off either..

What do I say if I find that I just don't want my rabbits to end up in that home, and literally fear it's a fate worse than death?

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I had some people buying something else here yesterday and they sort of scared me.. the woman told her kids "Oh, you want a rabbit each?" then asked me what size the rabbits would be, and when I told her she said to her kids "No, those will be too large to cuddle with, you can't have them. We'll find you dwarf rabbits." Which is fine, I guess.. a way to avoid getting a pet that seems to large for the space they could provide. Fair enough, although I'd say large rabbits are often more cuddly. But then upon noticing my 3 week old kits, "oh, but they are small! Can they leave mommy yet? At what age can they leave the mommy?" - "No.. they're just three weeks they need to be eight, and they'll be just as large as the others who are 8 weeks now" -- "But maybe they'll stay small longer?".... at that point I must admit I was happy that A. they were too young and B. my others were too large and C. they were too expencive (at half the price of a pet store rabbit)I mean.. so you get 2 more weeks of small rabbits, what will you do with it the other 5-9 years when it's large? They also wanted one of each (male + female) but I doubt they'd neuter them.

Anyhow. It were nice people, I've chatted a bit with them online prior to the buisness and they seemed sensible for most parts.. but this reasoning came as a bit of a chock to me. Well well.. Maybe they would have taken good care of the rabbits. I don't know, they had animal experience and showed some good sense when they told the kids how to act in the colony (sit still and wait for the bunnies rather than chasing them.) I might be overreacting, but it just struck me as they were not aware of what kind of pet a rabbit is or how long they'd live. Or how fast they grow

http://rabbittalk.com/blogs/zabistic"If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit. - Robert Brault, 1938"

Hi Zab,In a case such as you describe I would suggest that they purchase:A Plush toy Rabbit until such time as they can purchase a few "GOOD BOOKS"on the subject of, "{The raising and proper care of Rabbits as Pets!Perhaps a Pet ROCK would be better?Ottersatin.

This is my initial reply to people looking for rabbits - pet or meat"Thank you for your interest in my rabbits.

I want to be sure you are prepared for a bunny and have a few questions;

Have you ever owned a rabbit before?

If so what happened to him or her?

If not, are you certain no one in your family is allergic to their fur, bedding or hay?

What supplies do you have or plan to get?

What size cage do you have?

Thank you "

Depending on their answers I arrange a time to view the rabbits or offer some advice

For example :

Interested party "I've had 3 rabbits over the years they all died of old age when they were 5 or 6"

Me "Can you tell me about the food you fed your rabbits as they should live 8 or more years and I currently have a 10 year old buck "

Interested party "I have a female and I'd like to get a rabbit for her to bond to so she will be friendly again"

Me "Is your female spayed? Removing the sex hormones often makes rabbits calmer. If you don't wish to spay then you should get another female or you could get 5 to 10 babies born every month. Also there is no guarantee that she will accept a rabbit friend and you will need to keep them in separate cages for the next 8 to 14 years"

http://rabbittalk.com/blogs/zabistic"If a rabbit defined intelligence the way man does, then the most intelligent animal would be a rabbit, followed by the animal most willing to obey the commands of a rabbit. - Robert Brault, 1938"

When I got my Hollands the breeder gave me a pamphlet about proper rabbit care.. Personally I'd just ask a couple questions to get an idea if they know about rabbit care... Talk about how they should live until 8-10 (or more), they're not all that cuddly, they will need neutering if they want multiple rabbits (while this may not be true 100% of the time I'd just stick by this for anyone without a lot of rabbit experience), they'll need an X pen or free ranged, they may chew wires or carpet etc. Nothing super 'scary', but before they purchase the rabbit I'd go over some 'major' issues with rabbits people don't know about.

And I'd also go over some positive things so they won't suddenly think rabbits are terrible... How they'll come up to you for pets, they can be litter box trained, generally quiet, etc. Sorta like cats.

But I'd definitely get a care sheet and give it to them before they buy the rabbit.. Let them come over 1-2 times before buying the rabbit, and be sure to give them time to read the pamphlet.. Or you could just link them to a site that'll tell them basic rabbit care..

This is of interest to me as well. Has anyone posted a sample 'care sheet' to print out for new buyers?

Our kits are 11 days old and I'm advertising them pretty heavily on facebook, but I've also given a date when they 'should be ready to leave momma' (8 weeks old) and specified that they are 'to good, indoor homes only'. I've priced them at $30 each (or $40/pair... although I think I would only offer two does as a 'pair'). I need to send out that questionnaire to the folks who have shown an interest. Of course, this is backwoods WV. I will probably be lucky to find more than a handful of truly responsible and caring potential pet owners

Syberchick70 wrote: Of course, this is backwoods WV. I will probably be lucky to find more than a handful of truly responsible and caring potential pet owners

(note that I am not that far away, in backwoods Virginia)

Actually, you're likely to find one of three types:

1- 4H kids, or former ones, farm kids, who know about rabbits or animals in general;2- people looking to breed and sell their own down the road, thinking it's easy money;3- people looking for meat rabbits who will say they are looking for pets. These are pretty easy to identify and weed out.

I have been selling rabbits in the "backwoods" for a few years now (both pet and meat rabbits), and have turned away only a couple of people. Fortunately, most of the irresponsible pet owners I have seen around here aren't in to rabbits. You can't tie up a rabbit in the yard or turn it loose in the field and let it tend to itself. Rabbits take work, and that doesn't appeal to a lot of the irresponsible folks. At least, that's what I have seen.

I'm in that same rough area, and I'll second the fact that most irresponsible pet owner types are going to be more toward dogs or cats, and if they do get into rabbits probably are probably not going to want to pay much (or anything) for it and aren't going to go looking/willing to wait, as opposed to picking a rabbit up at TSC or a free/cheap one that's available RIGHT NOW. Asking about housing/size, an appropriate price, and advertising in advance of availability for pickup will help a lot.

People looking to make their own money by breeding or looking for meat rabbits and claiming they want them as pets are going to be more likely. How you deter those people, I don't know.

ETA: Oh, re: information to print out. I know our breeder gave me a care sheet, but I am pretty sure she wrote it up itself. It includes things like where to buy the feed they're eating and where to buy it (as well as samples from home so switching can be gradual) local places to buy appropriate indoor and outdoor cages and cost of them, how to worm, signs of illness, rabbit safe flea control, etc. But it was all tailored to local places, which I thought was nice.

Excellent information! Thanks!Is it a bad idea to offer a discount for a pair? How much is a person usually willing to pay for a meat rabbit? Also, these rabbits won't be huge.... shouldn't be any larger than 6lbs or so I would think, since daddy is 6.5 lbs and mom is 5.5 (chubby)

If you were selling them to people who were interested in breeding their own meat, I'd say a discount for a trio or pair is a good idea.

Since you're looking for good, indoor, PET homes? No. I wouldn't discount for a pair. People need to first figure out if they LIKE keeping rabbits as indoor pets (this may not apply to all your buyers) but you also don't want to encourage them to think that even a pair of does is a situation where you can put two animals in one cage and have them be sunshine and rainbows for their whole life. That may happen, but in my experience odds are it won't. They need to know, at the very least, if they take two they need to be prepared to have two separate set-ups and the room and money for that. As well as, honestly, being prepared to spay/neuter.

Maybe, MAYBE, offer them a tiny discount off a second, or you know - offer a discount if they come in with a receipt or photo showing that they've bought a cage and supplies that you approve of. Heck, jack your prices up and then 'discount' down at proof of that purchase to the price you need.

But I think the rules change a little when you're trying to find, specifically indoor PET homes for rabbits.

Here in backwoods PA we have more to worry about than just those who think of buns as cheap, disposable pets to occupy their children for a little while. We also have folks who try to train dogs on them, and those who release them as living lawn ornaments. Snake owners could be added to the list, as some sellers do worry about that.

From my experience, those people who aren't intending to actually keep or care for the animal will look for bottom dollar prices, and tend to ignore anything over $10.

If anyone wants a sample of what I give out to my rabbit buyers EVERYONE gets a care sheet.

I do specify in writing and in talking that I warranty STRESS related illnesses ONLY.

for instance if I sell a rabbit and it doesn't eat within the first 24 hours BRING IT BACK. I do not refund money I ONLY give next available replacement.

I used to warranty for two weeks but stopped doing that when people wanted replacements for The bunny isn't doing so well since my kid let it loose in the yard. Or we let it out in the garage.

I rarely have people lose rabbits that i sell.it happens occasionally twice last year. one... a rabbit travelled in a hot car for three hours to get home. (they had told me it was air conditioned but it wasn't and they had rabbit in window seat). And a kit that died from we have NO idea. It was fine for two days, they went out and found it dying when they got back...and it had been eating drinking just fine till then. They got a replacement rabbit.

So if selling pet rabbits think carefully on your health warranty policy (if you offer one) and consider the length of time you offer such warranty and remember this.. PEOPLE LIE. So be clear. State you only sell healthy rabbits. No guarantees on showing or future temperament issues.

And if you want a sample of my rabbit care sheet just PM me and I'll get that out to you. (PDF viewer needed)

I guess $30/rabbit is a good price then. It's still less than the pet store and they do not even bother to tame their rabbits. When I bought our lop buck from them, I put my hand in the pen and watched to see how they reacted. Most of the bunnies hid in a corner. He came over and sniffed my hand and turned out to be a great rabbit, although I never advocate buying from a pet store.

I might offer indoor cages for sale and some supplies (like that nice hay rack someone is selling on here). I know I can't be certain of anything, but I want to at least try to find good homes for the little critters.